Mint Chocolate Chip

written by: albe-chan

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned,, I am making no money from this, and any coincidence with real life is purely coincidental. This work may contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (mentions of sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

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An hour later, Lily was showered, dressed, and carrying a coffee in a paper cup down the beach as she held hands with Scorpius. They were walking the opposite way she knew, from experience, lead to the large beach she usually frequented, and wondered where they were going. There was a shout from a ways down shore and Lily looked up to see a massive black dog with a lolling pink tongue bounding purposefully toward them. Lily held the blond's hand tighter.

The owner of the dog shouted again, but the dog didn't appear to be listening. Lily felt a tingle of panic because the dog barked at them, still running full tilt, and it was the deep, scary kind of woof that declared the beast to be mean and hungry. The dog got ever closer, not seeming to slow down or make any indication it might be running at something behind them. She gripped Scorpius's hand tighter still, in fear now. And just as it got within ten or so feet, she felt herself tense with shock.

Because the massive, slobbering dog reached them in a half dozen pounding heartbeats, and just as Scorpius released her hand the dog stopped short and dipped its front half down playfully, the short tail wagging madly. The redhead winced a little, still half terrified, as the giant Rottweiler barked, low and menacing again. And then the blond leaned forward as the dog jumped up, and hugged the slobbering beast who woofed, then jumped back down and began sniffing Lily curiously.

"It's not going to bite me, is it?" Lily asked timidly, standing stock still, even as the dog snuffled up her thigh.

"No," Scorpius said, looking amused. Lily frowned as he grinned, and then said firmly, "Bandit, sit." And to the redhead's shock, the massive dog sat, tongue lolling out obscenely still, seeming to smile up at Scorpius. "This is Bandit." Lily had gathered as much.

"You have a dog?" Lily asked, shocked and confused.

"Not really. It's a long story, but suffice to say, every other Saturday, I get a few hours of visitation with him." Scorpius rubbed behind the dog's ear and the massive dog turned, licked the blond man's hand, and went back to panting with his tongue out.

"So who does this thing-?" Lily asked, but before she could finish, a very pretty woman with caramel skin and long, dark, very curly hair that floated on the wind around her shoulders came up.

Bandit woofed as if to say, "Look who I found!" at the woman, who crouched down to his level, smiling.

"Be a good boy for Scor," the woman said, rubbing the dog lovingly behind both ears, then kissed him. She stood up and smiled at Scorpius. "I'll pick him up at three," she said lightly, and glanced at Lily. The redhead couldn't help but see the silent question in the woman's eyes.

"Will do. And you know he's always good, Mar," Scorpius replied.

"For you, maybe," she said, rolling dark brown eyes and handing over a leash. "Have fun," she said, patted Bandit one last time, and headed off down the beach once more. The redhead glanced sideways at Scorpius questioningly, trying to squash the ripple of jealousy she felt.

"So I have to know how it came to be you get bi-monthly visitation with a dog," she said lightly, finishing the last of her coffee as they headed back down the beach. Bandit loped ahead, chasing the surf, woofing loudly when the waves touched him.

"It took some of my very best persuasion," he said, and squeezed her hand. "Second only to convincing you to come to bed with me, actually," he added teasingly. Hazel eyes rolled, but Lily couldn't fight the smile. "Bandit's owner, Marlena, and I were living together. And funny enough, I was actually furious she got a dog at first. He was just a puppy, and got into everything, but he's so endearingly stupid and always seemed so repentant, I eventually came round to loving him. And with a little training, he got much better." His mouth quirked a little. "Unfortunately, at that point, Marlena had stopped liking me so much, and she moved out, and took Bandit with her." Lily bit back the urge to comment on the woman's stupidity. "Anyway, I didn't see him for a few months, then one day, when I was running on the beach, he just showed up, acting like his same old self, as if it was yesterday I'd last seen him. And when we found Marlena again, I made my case for visitation." The blond grinned at her crookedly, the sexy half smile that made her heart beat faster. "I think she was swayed when I mentioned I could have simply taken him for my own and she'd have thought him lost forever."

Lily laughed a little, because it was, yet another, surprising facet to the asshole exterior that Scorpius met the world with. Because that story made her feel distinctly warm and fuzzy in her chest, and proved he had a functioning, living heart, deep down. Enough to demand his ex let him see her dog, because he loved the big stupid beast. "That's actually really sweet," she said, and Scorpius chuckled.

"It's mostly selfish," he said. "Bandit's a great running buddy, and great for picking up women." Both of Lily's brows shot up. "He is. Look at him." Scorpius gestured and Lily glanced over to where the dog barked threateningly at a wave that went out, dodging back nimbly as another crashed forward, then looked back at them, almost smiling, tongue hanging out. The redhead couldn't help but grin, because he definitely looked endearingly stupid.

"I should hope that won't be the case today," she said lightly.

The blond pulled her closer, and kissed her. "Not today," he said. Lily felt butterflies erupt somewhere in her chest as they paused on their walk and he hauled her impossibly closer, pressing her front flush with his own, and kissed her again, deeper, hands roving around her waist. She groaned, melting against him, and lifted onto her toes as her arms looped around his neck, tongues sliding together erotically. And just as his hands slid down to her ass, gripping her firmly, Lily was knocked forward, into Scorpius, pushing them off balance, by something quite heavy smacking into her back.

"Bandit!" Scorpius said, half sitting up as Lily rolled off of him. The big dog stood there, tongue hanging out, drooling on the redhead's leg.

"Was that him?" she asked, and looked at the dog in shock. He seemed utterly innocent, looking at them as if wondering why they were on the ground. "That wasn't nice," she said sternly to the dog, who tilted his head at her. "And it's definitely not making a very good first impression for yourself," she added, then felt silly, because there was no way the dog understood her. Even if he closed his mouth and looked at her very seriously for a moment. Lily and Scorpius stood up, and Bandit gave Scorpius giant brown puppy eyes, as if feeling sad Lily had been stern with him.

"She's not wrong, buddy," Scorpius said, and rubbed his head as Lily brushed sand off her shorts.

Bandit seemed to consider himself sufficiently punished and dismissed, because he darted off, chasing a couple seagulls into flight down the beach, woofing joyously. "So why do you call him Bandit?" Lily asked after they continued down the beach, hand in hand once more.

"He used to steal shoes to chew on. And he thought he was being utterly sneaky, but it wasn't hard to miss a Rottweiler, even if he was still a puppy, prowling around toward the closet, on the lookout in case I forgot to put my shoes away. And even harder to miss him dragging my shoes off to his little dog bed to destroy in secret."

Lily chuckled, because she could just imagine, and then cringed, because she knew for a fact Scorpius wore really nice shoes, especially for work, and doubted Bandit cared he was using a shoe worth a couple hundred dollars as a chew toy. "No wonder you two get along so well," she said, and the tall blond glanced over, brow furrowing a little, and Lily squeezed his hand. "You're both assholes."

Scorpius chuckled huskily. "True, but at least Bandit's loveable," he said lightly, then kissed her neck. Lily's brows lifted, because under the half joking, offhand way he'd spoken, she couldn't help but think there was something more there, that sounded rather a lot like self deprecation. And although the thought made her want to frown, she forced herself to keep smiling as they continued down the beach. It shouldn't matter that Scorpius might actually think himself unloveable, at least not to her, because she didn't have feelings for him, and it was never going to last between them. And yet, Lily couldn't help but feel, the tiniest little bit, rankled by that, because for some reason it did matter to her.

They walked the beach awhile before Scorpius leashed Bandit and they all headed for lunch. Lily tried not to dwell on what her blond almost-boyfriend had said, and yet she must not have done well, because almost as soon as they'd ordered food at one of the beach cafes, with Bandit sprawled under the table on the patio, Scorpius said, "What's with the face?"

"What face?" Lily asked, pretending ignorance.

"The face that looks all thoughtful," he said, and smirked, leaning back in his chair, sipping his diet Coke. "You only get that face when you're mulling something over."

"I'm weighing the likelihood of getting a week off to go to Florida," she lied, and then sipped her iced tea. "It's not looking likely," she said when he started looking pleased.

"When will you find out?" he demanded.

The redhead licked her lips. "I was going to ask the Assistant Coordinator tonight. She's usually in on Saturdays."

Scorpius frowned a bit. "Can you call her now?" The redhead bit her lip, because she could she just didn't particularly want to. She was willing to bet Sheila Drake, Assistant Coordinator for Adult Alternative Art and Stress Management, the program that ran Lily's adult painting classes at the community center, would laugh at her if she called and asked for the next week off.

"Um, I guess," Lily said, and frowned a bit. "I don't really want to," she admitted, and Scorpius's brows shot up. "I mean, I'd love to go to Key West," she said quickly. "But it's going to be a no. I just know it. And I'd rather not spoil my lunch by being depressed you'll be gone and I'll be stuck working, and sitting at home being bored." Scorpius smirked and lifted her hand from atop the table. His mouth brushed her knuckles and Lily felt her breathing hitch, pulse spiking.

"So call and we'll find out either way," he murmured, then licked between her ring and middle fingers suggestively, making her nipples go hard and her breathing hitch yet again. She pulled out her cell and had pulled up Sheila's number before she even realized what she was doing. Because now that she'd said it, she really did want to go to Key West with Scorpius, and spend every night with him, letting him take possession of her body to bring her to the highest heights of ecstasy.

The line rang once, and then twice, and Lily felt a stab of panic. What the hell was she doing? What was she supposed to say!? It rang a third time and Lily gulped, but then Sheila picked up with a crisp, professional voice. "Adult Alternative Art and Stress Management Program, Sheila Drake speaking."

The redhead sucked in a breath. "Hi, Sheila, it's Lily," she said brightly. "Lily Potter, from-"

"Yes, Intro 101 and Advanced Realism," Sheila said warmly. "What's up?"

"Um," Lily said, and looked up at Scorpius, who stared back steadily, "I was calling to ask something that might sound a little crazy." The golden tanned man across the table from her smirked.

"Okay," Sheila said suspiciously.

"I was wondering, um… Well, if it's at all possible, I want to have next week off." She sucked in a breath when Sheila didn't say anything for a beat. "Um, from Sunday to Saturday, if at all possible."

"Or Sunday to Sunday," Scorpius said, unhelpfully and loud enough to be heard.

Lily waved him down to be quiet, even as Bandit woofed from under the table. "You mean Sunday, as in, tomorrow?" Sheila asked slowly.

Lily gulped. "Yeah," she said weakly, bracing for rejection. There was a moment of silence and then the redhead felt her heart drop.

"That's rather short notice," Sheila said sternly. Lily gulped.

"I know. And I get it, if you-"

"Luckily, we have another new art student intern who'd probably love covering your classes," Sheila continued, "so I'll ask, but I'm going to say yes, because I'm fairly positive Tomas will be delighted to be teaching for you."

Lily felt her brows pulling together. She'd met the newest of the art student interns, Tomas, who was considered brilliant, but whom Lily had found too arrogant and far too self justifying to like, personally. "Really?" she asked slowly. "Even for my Realism class?" she said, because she knew Tomas specialized in Impressionism, and knew her more dedicated adult students, some of whom had taken the same class the year before, wouldn't be impressed if he couldn't hack it.

"Oh yeah," Sheila said brightly. "I mean, he's not you, but he'll do in a pinch," she said, and laughed airily. "Besides, you never ask for time off, so I think after three years, you deserve a little vacation."

Lily felt her brows shoot up. "What about Harold?" she asked, because she had a feeling the Program Director, Harold Stuffmann, wouldn't share the same opinion that she deserved a break.

"I'll worry about Harold," Sheila said dismissively. "And besides, I'd gladly take the heat from Harold so you can have a week with that new man who always comes to pick you up. Emily Fields, from Sculpture, was telling me he's a sexy devil, and we're all hoping he works out for you, honey." Lily felt her face going red, and her mouth pursed, but she didn't bother to tell her technical boss she wasn't looking for anything other than a good time with Scorpius. "Just promise you'll have a good time," Sheila added.

Lily nodded, unable to resist smiling a little. "Sure thing. Thanks a million, Sheila," she breathed, still a little shocked.

"You're welcome," Sheila said. "And you owe me one. I accept payments in babysitting and blind dates with hot friends. And since I'm not in tonight, see you next Monday!"

"Bye," Lily said, smirking, because she could just bet Sheila was hoping for a date from one of Scorpius's hot single friends, and hung up.

"So?" Scorpius said, looking smug. "What's the verdict?"

"She said yes," Lily said, and felt a thrill of excitement course through her when Scorpius grinned. "Which doesn't mean I can just take off," she said, and the blond sat forward, smirking a little, just like when he'd alluded to being unloveable.

"Because you don't want to?" he asked softly.

The redhead shook her head and drank some more iced tea. "No, I already told you I want to."

"Why not then?" he demanded.

Just then, food arrived, and Lily took a moment to remove the lettuce from her burger and Scorpius smothered his french fries in ketchup. "Because," she said, lifting her burger, "I'll have to tell my mom why I won't be at Sunday dinner for two weeks in a row." She bit into her food and snorted a laugh at her lover's expression of shock. "Exactly," she said through a mouthful.

"Babe," he rumbled, even as she wiped some mayo off the corner of her mouth and then sucked it off her thumb.

"Mmm?" she hummed, too busy chewing to respond properly.

"Do you really think your mother is going to be upset when you're going away with me?" he drawled. She paused, mid-chew, realizing her mother would probably be fucking ecstatic. Her father on the other hand… She looked at Scorpius, and swallowed her mouthful, but before she could respond, he reached out, wiped the other side of her mouth, and sucked mustard off his own thumb. Her pulse kicked up, even as she felt a blast of arousal shoot through her.

"Good point," she said. "Let's hope she picks up when I call them, and not my dad."

The blond chuckled, husky and deep, making Lily erupt in goosebumps, a zing of electric desire jolting through her core and a tingle of molten wanting shivering over her skin, and she wondered for the thousandth time how he could be so damn sexy and crank her libido into life with something like just a simple laugh. "That call can definitely wait until after lunch."

Once they were finished, Lily having accidentally on purpose dropped at least a dozen french fries for Bandit, they headed back to the beach and Scorpius produced a little folding frisbee from within the leg pocket of his black cargo shorts that he threw for Bandit to chase. Lily kicked off her sandals and plunked herself down in the sand to watch, finding herself looking at Scorpius more than the dog, who made some truly great leaps for his toy before bringing it back dutifully.

The redhead couldn't shake the feeling that he was anything but unloveable. Sure, he was rude, and most definitely perverted, and painfully blunt at times, but he was so much more than that beneath the surface. Obviously he was a softie inside, something she'd suspected before and had been confirmed after she'd heard the Bandit visitation story, and she was willing to bet he would love people the same way he loved the big stupid Rottweiler. Steadily and completely, accepting the faults and relishing the good parts, and of course, as she'd known from the start, any woman he loved would undoubtedly be shown, vigorously and regularly, in the bedroom.

The redhead almost laughed aloud at her own thoughts. Getting sentimental much? He's never going to love you, because he's a fucking twelve out of ten, and even if by some miracle he did, it doesn't matter. Because come September, it's going to be over either way. And it's not like I'm in love with him.

And then he glanced back at her, smiling, the sun turning his hair to platinum, his smile blinding, and said, "Are you going to throw this frisbee, or just sit there looking all dreamy, babe?" Lily couldn't reply for a second, because it had just struck her, painfully and with the subtlety of an oncoming train, that she might very well be falling in love with Scorpius Malfoy, prick and douche extraordinaire. And if that was indeed the case, she had to stop it before it happened. Because whenever he decided to move on, or come September, there was no way she'd be able to continue fooling around with him, and if she fell for him entirely, she'd undoubtedly wind up with a broken heart again. And she doubted, after the last time, she could handle that.

Finally her brain clicked back into action, and she stood up. "I'll try," she said, and accepted the frisbee. "Although I doubt Bandit will be content with your crappy throws after me," she added with a cheeky grin, and flicked her wrist expertly, sending the frisbee sailing down the beach. Bandit woofed and chased it down contentedly.

"Next time we play football, I'm bringing him."

Lily laughed as the dog raced after the frisbee, barely catching it before it hit the sand. "Because he's the only who can catch Rose?" she asked.

"No," Scorpius said, moving behind her and pulling her close, resting his head intimately on her shoulder. "Because he's the only one I know who's faster. And he likes to pop inflated balls, so he'll be on his game," he murmured, then turned his face into her neck, arms around her middle, and Lily felt herself relaxing into him.

"That could be construed as cheating," she said lightly.

"Not in the slightest," Scorpius replied, and grinned against her flesh, and she grunted as he bit her lightly, just enough to make her feel distinctly hot and bothered and arch against him. "I'm merely evening the odds of success," he said.

"In that case I'll tell Rose to throw some Milk Bones the other way."

Scorpius pressed a hot, open mouthed kiss against her neck. "That's definitely cheating."

Lily melted against him, purposely grinding her ass against his crotch as Bandit came loping back with the frisbee. "Not at all," she replied, then turned fully, pressing against him and kissing him soundly. "I'm just playing to win."

Bandit woofed and Lily broke away from Scorpius before he could push her over again, because she was pretty sure she still had sand in her tank top from last time. "Was that good or what?" she asked the dog, and picked up the frisbee. Bandit took off without another look, his tiny tail wagging madly.

"He likes you," Scorpius said, grey eyes roving over her after she sent the frisbee flying ahead again.

"What's not to like?" she said jokingly, leaning into him as he embraced her from behind again.

"Too true," he said, and Lily told herself sternly she didn't feel anything other than like and lust for Scorpius, even though she felt a surge of something that felt altogether deeper and stronger in her chest when his bronzed arms squeezed her gently, holding her close.

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